You're going to need to reinstall all the patches as they go away when the games are uninstalled. If you don't uninstall the games before you add the new EPs, all you need to do is patch to the latest one. I think that Steve gave you a link where you might find the patches now that they're not available on the TS2 site. (Go back and read through. I think it was something like Simprograms but I'm not sure.)

Yes, I think he did do that so I'll check it out. I hope they're still there because all of the stuff Mirelly put in her FAQ's are links to old pages that are defunct. Because everyone now is TS3 crazy. So far I don't like that game at all.

Anyway, so I don't have to uninstall the patches--if they go away with the games when they are uninstalled. Unfortunately I HAVE to uninstall the the game and all the EP's before I add the new EP's because one is a the Double Deluxe combination pack with Sims 2 in it as well as Nightlife. I obviously already have Sims 2 (the Holiday edition), plus my Fun with Pets comb EP has Mansions & Gardens in it and I already have that installed too. So I guess it's easier to uninstall everything. Then install first the Double Deluxe, and then the others and just take the one disc from the Holiday edition that is the Holiday stuff and add that last. Then I will have to go looking for patches before I can find out if everything is okay and can start playing (and breathing).

Just go find them and save them? Once I uninstall and reinstall how do I add the patches that I've saved? I can't remember how I did it before but I already had the EP in place and then downloaded the patch directly.

Okay I quit blubbering long enough to google "Simprograms" and found a page where it looks like I can get the patches. So now I have another question. If uninstalling removes my old patches, how can I go now and get the new patches without them disappearing when I uninstall? Shouldn't I wait until after I uninstall everything and upload and install the patches one at a time after installing each EP that they go with?

A friend game me a page where I found out what order to reinstall everything, including how to deal with combination packs and what order to do those in as well. I'm really grateful I have that anyway.

You don't direct download the patches into your game. (You should get a choice whether to install or to download to a place of your choosing.) You download them to a safe place on your computer, then install them when you have the proper games installed. That also means that you have the patches in case you ever need to uninstall your games again. Don't bother to install them before you have the games you want installed.

Ahhhh, I did not know I was supposed to patch BEFORE they're installed. I didn't know about patches at first, so mine were installed after the first couple of EPs and after that I just assumed they went in after. As I added a couple more EP's I was still adding the patches AFTER. I didn't have any trouble but maybe I was just lucky. So I'll keep that in mind.

You patch after it's installed, but it must have the previous EPs patch already. So if you don't do any patching until the end it might not work. But you patch *after* you've installed each EP. Install an EP, then patch, install the next, then patch, etc.

Okay, that's what I thought. Now I have another question re that I assumed I should wait until all EP's and patches are installed before actually going in and seeing what's going on with my game. But then I read something that said you should go in after each EP (and patch). I didn't plan to put my backed up EA files into the game until I was all done. So I would think it would be a mess if I went in before everything was loaded. Half the Sims are dressed in clothes from various EP's and in CC and of course the same for the houses and lots.

You can check the EP with a new neighborhood. You don't have to use the one that you've been working on. Any neighborhood will do. If you want, you can put in some downloads to make sure it works ok, but mainly you want to make sure that the EP works at all.

I see. Of course I have another question. All the patches I downloaded are zip files. When I open them where do I need to send them so they are in the game? I don't remember them being zip files before but they must have been and I don't remember where I put them. It's lucky for me that they disappear automatically when I uninstall everything.

When you open the zip file, it gives you an .exe file. You just double click on it and it will install itself where it needs to go. The old patches were exe files too, but if you didn't save them, they would just install on their own while you downloaded. But the problem with that is that you don't have it for future reinstalls when you need them. It's better to save them and just do the double click thing with them when you need them. (Especially since that means that even if the sites go away, you still have the necessary patches.)